Ken Burns doesn’t like the expression “Thank you for your service.” Though it has become a default way to pay respect to military veterans, too often the phrase functions as a brushoff, the filmmaker says. “It suggests no further conversation is necessary.”

The scale of “The Vietnam War”—a 10-part, 18-hour series that took 10 years to produce—reflects the complicated nature of the conflict. It claimed the lives of more than 58,000 U.S. service members, scarred veterans returning to a hostile home front, and continues to divide Americans who lived through it. The series debuts Sept. 17 on PBS.

I submitted the photo and photo caption on this post along with this short description:

As much as I would like to watch this series on the Vietnam War, I’m not sure that I can emotionally. Even thinking about fighting in Vietnam brings me to tears. My husband (Army ROTC at MSU) told me on our third date in college that he was going to Vietnam, and that specter hung over me during our dating, marriage, and his two years on active duty.

I accompanied him when he went on active duty in May of 1970 right after the Kent State shootings. Those first nine weeks at Ft. Knox, Kentucky, had a profound impact on me. I subsequently wrote a novel inspired by that experience (MRS. LIEUTENANT can be read for free via Kindle Unlimited) from the wives’ POV about their husbands going to Vietnam:www.amazon.com/Mrs-Lieutenant-Womens-Friendship-Novel-ebook/dp/B0019V2HFK

PTSD awareness efforts

The self-publishing of MRS. LIEUTENANT led to my involvement with various online military support issues, especially PTSD (for both combat trauma and non-combat trauma). I continue to work on getting a production company including Amazon and Netflix interested in my two PTSD projects — one a reality show of innovative PTSD treatments and one a scripted drama series inspired by the Los Angeles County Veterans Court.

Phyllis Zimbler Miller (@ZimblerMiller) has an M.B.A. from The Wharton School and is the author of fiction and nonfiction books/ebooks. Phyllis is available by skype for book group discussions and may be reached at pzmiller@gmail.com